(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By Sabina Mammadli
The goal is to create 'cities of the future' on the liberated
territories of Azerbaijan, Founder of SA Partners Swiss Company
Dunja Kovari said.
She made the remarks during Azerbaijan National Urban Forum on
the topic 'Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda -
as the leading force for restoration and reconstruction in the
post-conflict period'.
The entrepreneur stressed that the issues of greening will be at
the center of attention according to the plan for the restoration
of Zangilan city. She stated that the company wants to preserve the
existing nature of the city and make sure it is rich in parks.
Regarding the plan for the restoration of Kalbajar city, Kovari
noted that the main goal in this region is to create all conditions
for the development of tourism.
'Kalbajar is known for its hot springs. The company's goal is to
create a large number of social facilities - recreational and
sports facilities, spas, and fitness centers. Of course, greening
the city will remain one of the priorities,' she added.
She noted that the priority for the restoration of Gubadli city
is the preservation of water resources.
'A concept such as a 'closed cycle water ring' will provide an
opportunity to conserve and reuse water resources,' she
explained.
Similarly, Special Representative of the Azerbaijani President
to Zangilan district Vahid Hajiyev stressed that the country will
continue work on improving Zangilan city to a high standard.
He noted that Zangilan is a regional center, built in accordance
with concepts of 'green' and 'smart' city.
'For example, to restore the ecosystem destroyed during the
occupation, 20,000 plane trees and 1,000 kilograms of oak seeds
were planted in Zangilan District. Moreover, more than 3,000
different trees were planted in Aghali village recently,' Hajiyev
said.
Noting that residential areas in Zangilan will be integrated
into park zones, which will be further emphasized by the
nature-oriented landscape, he added that residential buildings will
be integrated into the layout and design of the park region to very
high standards with the use of local materials as well as modern
technologies.
He stressed that logistics, tourism, and agriculture are also
priorities in the restoration work.
Ecological aspects
Speaking at the forum, Deputy Energy Minister Elnur Soltanov
said that 'green' energy from Karabakh will be supplied to Absheron
Peninsula.
'In accordance with the project that Azerbaijan is implementing
with BP, green energy to be produced on the liberated territories
will be transported to the Absheron Peninsula, where BP will use it
to decarbonize the oil and gas sector,' he said.
Additionally, he stressed that Azerbaijan's Ministry of Energy
is considering a new project on the construction of a floating
solar power plant with a capacity of 50 MW with the Asian
Development Bank (ADB).
The ministry noted that Azerbaijan plans to expand in this area.
It's planned to develop and implement a pilot project and then
develop a corresponding large-scale project.
'The pilot project includes the construction of a floating solar
power plant with a capacity of 100 kW on Lake Boyukshor,' Soltanov
stated.
Deputy Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Firdovsi Aliyev
also added that the concept of sustainable urban planning and the
general plan for restoration is already being implemented on the
liberated territories of Azerbaijan.
'In this direction, the Azerbaijani government in accordance
with the general plan on the restoration of liberated plans is
implementing such concepts as smart cities and villages, green
economy, and sustainable development,' he said.
According to Aliyev, creating environmentally sustainable cities
is one of the priority issues for Azerbaijan as well as waste and
water management.
'Azerbaijan pays attention, among other things, to the
regulation of waste emitted by industries, pollution due to
transport in the direction of transition to zero emissions. The
country has already created all the conditions for the introduction
of environmentally friendly and hybrid vehicles,' he stated.
Aliyev noted that the greening of the cities is also one of the
priority issues. He added that the circular economy is also one of
the priority issues and strategic documents in these directions are
already being implemented.
'This concept, for example, is included in the general plan of
Baku city. Thus, Azerbaijan plans to increase the number of green
zones in Baku up to 3,000 hectares, which will be more than 25
kilometers,' the minister informed.
Cultural aspects
During the same forum, Azerbaijani Culture Minister Anar Karimov
emphasized that landmines hinder the conduct of archaeological work
on the liberated territories.
'Monuments of Azerbaijani culture and cultural heritage have
been destroyed in this territory for 30 years, their origin has
been changed or illegal archaeological excavations have been
carried out, which is contrary to international conventions. After
the liberation of these territories from occupation, ruins and acts
of vandalism were discovered here,' Karimov stated.
He noted that today the employees of the Ministry of Culture
still face difficulties in carrying out monitoring due to the
unsafe situation in the liberated lands.
'During the preliminary monitoring, out of 706 monuments on the
state registry, 403 historical and cultural monuments were
researched. In addition, 864 cultural institutions were monitored.
162 new cultural monuments were also discovered,' Karimov
informed.
He added that the priority tasks now are to clear the liberated
territories from mines and ensure safe archaeological work.
'Employees of the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan monitor the
liberated territories. The main goal is to determine and classify
the degree of destruction of historical monuments. After that, they
are planned to be restored. As for archaeological sites, the
ministry is working on their conservation,' he added.
According to Karimov, in the period before the liberation of
Azerbaijani lands, UNESCO was informed about the destruction of
monuments there, which was obtained using satellite images. He
noted that at present this method is used only in places with
difficult terrain.
The minister stressed that these kinds of forums provide an
opportunity to exchange views on plans in connection with the
liberated territories of Azerbaijan.
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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on
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